5 minute read
Events
from Staffordshire What's On May & June 2021
by What's On Magazine for Wolverhampton and the Black Country, Staffordshire & Shropshire
Events previews from around the region
Step Back To The 1940s
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Severn Valley Railway, Sat 26 & Sun 27 June & Sat 3 & Sun 4 July
Always one of Severn Valley Railway’s most popular annual events, Step Back To The 1940s encourages visitors to dress in period costume and relive the decade through music, food, dance and ‘a whirlwind rail adventure’. Features include a 1940s wedding, rifle training, vintage vehicles, marketplaces, living history displays and military encampments. There’ll be re-enactors in evidence as well, complete with a surprise or two!
Circus Week at Blists Hill
Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge, Shropshire, Mon 31 May - Fri 4 June
Roll Up! Roll Up! The Circus is in town - and a Victorian one at that. Visit the award-winning Blists Hill Victorian Town during the half-term holiday and try your hand at period circus skills and routines with Leo Locus Circus. The event is one of many taking place at the venue in the coming months. Other highlights include a sport-themed weekend, the return of the ever-popular Steampunk gathering and a Victorian dog show.
Events
National Metro & Mini Show
British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire, Sun 6 June
The main event of the year for Metros and both classic and modern MINIs, this ever-popular show features hundreds of models, including 621 AOK - the first Mini produced in 1959 - and X411 JOP, the last ever classic Mini to be produced at Longbridge (in the year 2000). For visitors wanting to make a weekend of it, camping is available on Saturday 5 June.
Weston’s Spring Fling
Weston Park, Shropshire, Sun 30 - Mon 31 May
Live music, homemade Pimm's Picnics to savour, local crafters selling their wares, food stalls providing all manner of culinary delights, and more than 1,000 acres of gardens and parkland for visitors to enjoy at their leisure... Weston Park's brand-new Spring Fling! should certainly make for a relaxing and enjoyable day out over the bank holiday weekend. Youngsters are well catered for too, courtesy of the woodland adventure playground and maze, ensuring that this first-of-its-kind two-day event will most definitely boast a family-friendly feel.
Events previews from around the region
Circus Extreme
NEC, Birmingham, Thurs 20 May - Sun 6 June
A brand new death-defying show featuring extreme stunts and classic clown escapades inside the UK’s largest socially distanced circus big-top. Merging modern and contemporary styles of performance, Circus Extreme features the high-wire Danguir Troupe, the Extreme FMX team, aerial artist Laura Miller and Henry, the Prince of Clowns.
Mardi Gras
Alton Towers, Staffordshire, Sun 22 May - Sun 20 June
This carnival-inspired ‘takeover’ is new for 2021. Visitors can expect an explosion of colour and sound, plus ‘plenty of high-energy entertainment’, as they enjoy the theme park’s rollercoasters and rides until sunset. A selection of food from around the world will also be available to enjoy.
Events
Midsummer Garden Life Festival
Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Wed 23 - Fri 25 June
The sounds, tastes and smells of the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Far East all feature in this brandnew three-day gathering. Celebrating the summer solstice via theatre, poetry and talks in a spacious outdoor area, Midsummer Garden Life Festival features specially constructed zones taking visitors to far-flung places, and alfresco dining opportunities provided by artisan food producers. Gardening guru and RHS Malvern favourite Carol Klein (pictured) hosts music and musings sessions.
Midlands Air Festival
Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, Fri 4 - Sun 6 June
This year’s event features ‘the largest display of special shape character hot-air balloons in Europe’. Other aerial attractions across the weekend include World War One air displays, World War Two Warbirds, fast jets, helicopters, gyroplanes, aerobatic displays, aerial ballet, flying circus acts, and parachute & formation display teams.
A big roar for Zog
What’s On checks out Warwick Castle’s latest family attraction...
Warwick Castle is open for business, with outdoor activities and single-household stays at the Knight’s Village Woodland Lodges having been available to enjoy since April. Also on offer is a brand-new themed activity trail: Zog And The Quest For The Golden Star. The trail is based on Julia Donaldson’s bestselling children’s book and has seen Warwick Castle team up with Magic Light Pictures. With a map and Dragon School Stamp Activity Card in hand, participants meander through the grounds to undertake five different tasks in order to qualify as a fullyfledged dragon. A flying Zog greets you upon entry to the grounds, not only creating a perfect photo opportunity but also providing a chance to collect a first stamp. On heading towards the world’s first ever Horrible Histories adventure maze, you find the second and third tasks, which, through clever installations, allow youngsters to try and make Axel Scheffler’s instantly recognisable dragon illustrations roar and breathe fire. Journeying to the mighty trebuchet, at the far side of the castle on the River Avon, you must then find Pearl in order to capture a princess and complete the fourth task, after which you have to learn to fight on the Oak Tree Lawn with Sir Gadabout. Once all five stamps have been collected and the training completed, a golden star is awarded to each successful participant. A meet-and-greet with Zog, available at various times during the day, provides the perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Now that Warwick Castle has fully reopened, there’s even more to enjoy at the venue across the summer months, including the return of the UK’s largest birds-of-prey show The Falconer’s Quest. Roaming actors, who interact ‘in character’ with visitors, further add to the overall Warwick Castle experience. Currently they’re assuming the guise of knights on horseback and, so we’re told, Georgians from the Bridgerton era! Extremely friendly staff, intrinsic Covid-19 safety measures and (if you’re lucky the day you go) beautiful sunny weather ensure that a late spring or summertime visit to Warwick Castle makes for a safe, relaxed and extremely enjoyable day out.